New Delhi: State-owned GAIL (India) Ltd plans to expand its Dabhol liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal’s capacity to 12.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) by 2031-32, up from the planned 6.3 mtpa by mid-2027, according to a senior company official.
GAIL’s Director (Business Development) Rajeev Kumar Singhal said the company has received five proposals for equity stakes in US LNG projects, each tied to offers for long-term LNG supply contracts.
GAIL had last month floated a tender seeking up to 26 per cent stake in a US LNG project, bundled with a 15-year LNG supply agreement. The latest process is a revival of a similar initiative launched in FY23. That process was put on hold after the US government paused approvals for new LNG export permits in 2024.
Chairman and Managing Director Sandeep Kumar Gupta said the company sees potential for increased LNG imports from the United States. “We already have a very attractive portfolio. In our old portfolio, 5.8 trillion tonne is coming from the US. There is great potential for other players also to increase their offtakes from US. And at country level, I think we have a great appetite for US LNG,” he said.
Gupta said the current spot price of natural gas at Henry Hub, US is around USD 3.4 per MMBtu (Million British Thermal Units), and is expected to remain in the range of USD 3.5–4 per MMBtu in the near term.
“If the HH (Henry Hub) prices are say around USD 3.4 to 4 which is the present range, I think this makes a good sense in importing US volumes..There is a great flexibility if we contract on FOB (freight on board) basis, because we can swap the US cargos also at an opportune time, so we believe there is a great potential,” Gupta said.
The CMD said the company incurred a capital expenditure of Rs 10,512 crore during the financial year 2024-25. A similar capital outlay is planned for FY26, with Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 crore earmarked for the petrochemicals segment, around Rs 3,000 crore for pipelines, and the rest for other verticals such as compressed biogas (CBG) and LNG.
During FY25, GAIL’s natural gas transmission volumes rose by 6 per cent to 127.32 MMSCMD (Million Standard Cubic Meters per Day) from 120.46 MMSCMD in FY24. Its gas marketing volume reached 101.49 MMSCMD, up from 98.45 MMSCMD in the previous fiscal.
